julia(6)

📦
version 6.15 · 2 versions
, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable

julia(6) 💅✨

okay bestie, welcome to julia(6) from the XScreenSaver manual — yes, the page for the program that draws spinning, animating julia-set fractals. it's giving math girlie main character energy, and we're obsessed. 🌀💖

🌸 NAME 🌸

julia — draws spinning, animating julia-set fractals. no cap, that's the whole name, and it ate. ✨

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

julia [--display host:display.screen] [--foreground color] [--background
color] [--window] [--root] [--window-id number][--mono] [--install]
[--visual visual] [--ncolors integer] [--delay microseconds] [--cycles
integer] [--count integer]

[--fps]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

The julia program draws spinning, animating julia-set fractals. periodt. 💫

It uses ifs {w0 = sqrt(x-c), w1 = -sqrt(x-c)} with random iteration to plot the julia set, and sinusoidially varied parameters for the set, and plots parameters with a circle. yes bestie, that's the whole pipeline. 🫶

ngl, one thing to note is that count is the depth of the search tree, so the number of points computed is (2^count)-1. The page literally says, "I use 8 or 9 on a dx266 and it looks okay." 👀 The sinusoidal variation of the parameter might not be as interesting as it could, but it still gives an idea of the effect of the parameter. lowkey iconic. 🌊

Dragging the mouse in the window uses the mouse's position as the control point for the generation of ths set. 🖱️✨ (yes, ths is exactly how it appears in the original — we preserve the lore. 💀)

💅 OPTIONS 💅

julia accepts the following options:

  • --window — Draw on a newly-created window. This is the default. 🪟💖
  • --root — Draw on the root window. 🌱
  • --window-id number — Draw on the specified window. 🪟🔢
  • --mono — If on a color display, pretend we're on a monochrome display. 🖤🤍
  • --install — Install a private colormap for the window. 🎨
  • --visual visual — Specify which visual to use. Legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual. 👁️🎨
  • --ncolors integer — How many colors should be used (if possible). Default 200. The colors used cycle through the hue, making N stops around the color wheel. 🌈
  • --cycles integer — the original page gives this one no description, so it's just out here being mysterious. 💀
  • --count integer — no separate description in the original OPTIONS list either; the DESCRIPTION has the count depth-of-search-tree tea, tho. 👀
  • --fps — Display the current frame rate and CPU load. 📈🔥

psst — the synopsis also has --display host:display.screen, --foreground color, --background color, and --delay microseconds. The original OPTIONS list doesn't give them their own bullets, so I'm not inventing descriptions for them. 💅

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number. 🖥️
  • XENVIRONMENT — to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property. 📄
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — The window ID to use with --root. 🪟

📚 SEE ALSO 📚

X(1), xscreensaver(1), xlock(1) — go read those too, bestie. 🫶💖

Copyright © 1995 by Sean McCullough. 💖

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation.

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Sean McCullough <bankshot@mailhost.nmt.edu>, 1995. 🫶

Ability to run standalone or with xscreensaver added by Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, 10-May-97. 🌈

mwah 💋 — this page is from X Version 11, version 6.15 (30-Mar-2026), julia(6). stay fractalicious, bestie! 🌀💖

📦 where this page comes from